A downhill ski simulator is known which has a pair of footpads mounted at the rear ends of respective ski-like beams pivoted at their front ends about upright axes. The rear ends can ride on an arcuate track and springs urge the beams into a central parallel position. Thus the user, in order to simulate the side-to-side action of downhill skiing, stands on the pads and pushes the beams to one side and then the other against the resistance of the springs, strengthening the necessary muscle groups.
The main disadvantage of such devices is that they do not accurately simulate the movement and work of downhill skiing. The two ski beams are not capable of moving independently of each another and of pivoting about their own axes independently of each other like real skis. Neither do them meet the different levels of resistance that skis meet under actual downhill conditions, that is with the outer ski in a turn doing most of the work.
Thus a person training with such an apparatus can develop habits that will have to be unlearned once out on the slopes, and that might even make him or her a less able skier.